Malcolm McDowell speaks out about what's in store for Rob Zombie's H2!

Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. I wasn't a fan of Zombie's approach to the first HALLOWEEN. I don't know what I disliked the most... him trying something new that completely missed the point of what made Myers an icon in the first place or him just copying the first movie beat by beat for the second half.
I think Zombie's talents can be focused on original material and we can all be happy. But as you know he's doing the next HALLOWEEN movie (titled H2) and here are some tidbits straight out of Malcolm McDowell's mouth.
I love McDowell as an actor, but hated what he turned Loomis into and reading the below I now see how he approached the character. I understand, but that doesn't mean I like it and I think it spits in the face of what made the Loomis/Myers relationship work in even the shittiest of the Halloween sequels.
At least we know we're in for more Danielle Harris. That's the one thing I was able to take away from Zombie's remake... I had a crush on her growing up, so I was certainly appreciative of what she gave all of us in that second half...
Anyway, here's 'Terrence Bernardi' with a rundown of McDowell's talk at the a SAG event featuring Mr. McDowell! Enjoy!

Hello, all!
I'm no fan of Rob Zombie's take on the Myers saga...but, having said that, I figured it's my duty as a fellow horror/"Halloween" fan to share any and all news related to the upcoming film, "H2".
Legendary actor Malcolm McDowell was the Guest of Honor at a SAG Foundation "Conversations" Event tonight in Hollywood. During the 2-hour proceedings, the British thespian discussed his career and touched on a variety of subjects ranging from his debut film, "If" (which apparently convinced Kubrick to cast him as Alex in "A Clockwork Orange") to his turn as the villainous Dr. Tolian Soran in "Star Trek: Generations". He gave his thoughts on what it meant to be the one who "killed an American icon" in the character of Captain Kirk...and what it meant to him to take on the mantle of the legendary Dr. Samuel Loomis in "Halloween". As far as any hesitancy regarding embodying the classic role of Michael Myers' Doctor/arch-nemesis, McDowell said there wasn't any on his part. Apparently, McDowell had never seen the original "Halloween" and when Zombie asked him to play the role, he asked the rocker-turned-director if he recommended a viewing of the horror
classic. McDowell said Zombie responded by saying that wasn't necessary and that he should just make the role his own and bring what he could to it. So, McDowell said he turned his attention to the idea of realism for the part; (paraphrasing) "If Michael Myers is my 'star' patient...and then he goes off and slaughters a whole town full of people...then I surely must be the worst f*cking doctor on Earth!" He went on to say that in his mind Loomis was an absolute failure as a doctor and that he was only using his status as Myers' Doc basically as a pulpit from which to gain fame and notoriety, that for Loomis it was all about book deals, publicity, and fame. Definitely a different approach than Pleasence's...
Regarding "H2"; when the host of the event told McDowell he thought he did an amazing job of stepping into the role of Loomis and that he couldn't picture anyone else taking up the role besides him after the performance he gave in the first film, McDowell thanked him and told him "maybe you ought to tell that to the Weinsteins! We're in the middle of negotiating right now!" He then riffed on the notorious hard-bargaining of the Weinstein Brothers, "Those f*ckers!" He then chuckled and said he was, of course, kidding and said that Zombie, whom he called an "amazing director" (he said this twice during the event), wanted him back...even though McDowell himself thought Loomis must surely be dead...and that the Weinsteins are probably wishing Loomis WAS dead. The host prodded McDowell for plot details but McDowell insisted he had none to give, "I haven't read the script yet". He said all he knew was that the story supposedly takes place two months after the finale of the first film. He continued by saying Loomis won't be doing any chasing down of Myers, adding that pursuit will be left up to the "notorious Sheriff" and that Loomis' character "is in the middle of a book-tour."
Don't know if any of this is NEW information for everyone, just thought I would report what McDowell had to say. The quotes are as close as posible to what I can remember, and when I wasn't sure, I just tried to paraphrase what he said. McDowell did sound eager to return to the fold...but only time (and money) will tell if "H2" sees the return of McDowell to the role.
If you use this, please call me "Terrence Bernardi".

I WANT a badass Loomis again, the Halloween movies was ALWAYS about Loomis and Myers...not Jamie Lee Curtis...it was Loomis who should've killed him. He's the best in part 4...he's just a madman in that goddamn movie.

Its TERRIBLE. Essentially, its what Zombie ALWAYS does -- white trash cliche's screaming at each other for about an hour, and then the last half hour, 45 minutes plays out like a bad remake of the original movie. Its a travesty; doubly so because the teenagers who saw it probably never saw the VASTLY superior original.

Coming from somebody who never wanted to watch Zombie's HALLOWEEN, said it was a piece of shit before I even watched it, watched the workprint and confirmed it was a piece of shit, then watched the director's cut on DVD and kinda liked it, then watched it a couple more times, then bought it for some reason... I have to say I would take it over any of the sequels any day of the week. Especially HALLOWEEN II. Fucking boring piece of shit.
<p>Uh, anyway, I don't know. You might want to give it a look, you know, just to see or something.

I loved zombie's version, too. I like (and own) the 8 that came before it...even the Mikey Myers-less #3 "Season of the Witch". I don't know why these all these internet nerds whine about the 'raping of their childhood', that's probably the only action they get....
and Quint had a crush on Danielle Harris growing up? Hell, I still do!

Pleasance's Loomis was a man driven to the edge of insanity by Michael because of the horrible truth he comes to learn over the years - Michael is pure evil. That may not have any basis in science, but it works. And he is not simply making excuses for his own failures as a doctor - he genuinely believes it.<P>Macdowell turns Loomis into an uncertain, needy, angst-ridden man who feels guilty for not being able to help Michael. Pleasance’s Loomis never felt any guilt - Michael was his nemesis, not 'the one that got away'. But Mcdowell's Loomis is haunted only by his failure to get through to his patient. He writes books about Michael and holds seminars, but can only come up with a rather weak 'Michael is a psychopath' explanation that even he does not seem too enthusiastic about. How does labelling Michael a bog-standard psychopath make him any scarier?<P>To be fair I blame this mainly on the script rather than the performance. Perhaps Rob Zombie was deliberately going for a different take on the character, but in doing so he kind of missed the point.

Missed the point by a fucking mile. Look Mal, if you are going to be involved with a project, you should research the source material and the back-story, regardless of what the amazing director says. I am almost sure that you did, unless you want all the other actors in Hollywood to taunt you. And you found it much much easier to play Loomis as a burned out hippy in the flashbacks and then as a Jerry Springer fuckwad in the 2nd half. The best thing about Dr. Loomis (Pleasant Version) was that this was a man of medicine that found that he became the jailer of “pure evil” forced to keep the beast in the cage. I am not a purist about the original movie either, I just know shit when I step in it. BTW, it is my understanding that Rob Zombie trolls this site, testing the waters for ideas and fan reaction. Rob, please listen to what the geeks are saying and give the material the respect it deserves. If you don’t, go fuck yourself.

Was keeping the stupid sister thing going. Carpenter has even said he pulled that plot point out of his ass because the studio wanted a sequel. In the original Myers isn't stalking Laurie because she's his sister, it's because she and Tommy stopped at the house. Myers stalks Tommy too in the original. I thought at least rebooting Halloween would make for better sequels if they got rid of the dumb sister thing, but no. I was wrong.

it's shite. Proper shite. Zombie apologists (all of whom inexplicably seem to think The Devil's Rejects is good. When it's clearly shit) make endless excuses for it, but the fact is he really did rape the original.

As Teddy K, Globecom CEO. He was the perfect buzzwordy, figurehead, clueless CEO. The rest of the movie was formula romantic comedy, but Malcolm rocked in his few short scenes.<br><Br>But I was just checking out Malcolm's IMDB entry. Damn, that guy really will do anything. Mother fucker loves to work. I gotta respect that.

If Indy didn't say it I would have!
<P>
Laurie was a Reminder to Myers in the Original. She wasn't a family member until part 2 was made... Well technically the Sister/Family plot reared it's ugly head when John filmed the TV fill in scenes for the Original Halloween.
<P>
There's a made for TV only scene in the CBS TV run of Halloween 1 that shows Loomis finding the words "Sister" carved into Myers Loony Room Door. <P>
The Myers Only Stalks Family Plot killed the true potential of the original franchise.
<P> Actually strike that... Not hiring John and his Bud to make Part 4. John wanted Myers returns to Haddonfield as a vengeful ghost/force. That was the last big mistake in the series before the colossal fuck up the remake became.<P>
Still Rob will cite the near 80 million B.O. return of his remake to prove the film was a success.. <P>
No one factors in inflation. Halloweens 47 million worldwide gross adjusted for inflation would be somewhere around 147 million
<P> Any Idiot knows that remakes made off of certain well known Properties/Franchises will rake in big numbers with today's crowd.
P> Friday the 13th will make over 80 million worldwide. I have no doubt even with nearly 12 million Americans now without jobs.
<P>Just you watch and see. Will the film make it because it's a good remake? Fuck No! Nostalgia is pushing this train! Even if it is a good film. It will make that money because it's a remake of "FRIDAY THE 13TH". I'll trust only Ebert review of it since he will be the least jaded of all the critics out there by it being a recycled, updated, reworked version of the elements and scenes from the first 4 films. PD are asshole for remaking Friday, and they will be assholes for remaking A Nightmare On Elm Street!
<P>
Damn I'm derailing here...
Look, it would have been better if Myers just came back every now and then to relive his original killing spree. Because that's what he was doing in the original film "Reliving that night" Going after "Reminders"<P>
From what I've read so far for plot leaks. It appears as though "H2" has a Morgue Worker who is also a Necrophiliac and theres a scene somewhere in the film with him fucking a dead body.
<P>Gotta love the white trash bullshit Rob pumps into his stuff....

In fairness, Scarlet Johannsen is teh hotness in that flick, Topher Grace is surprisingly good, and Dennis Quaid further morphs into the over-earnest Harrison Ford who keeps doing shit like FIREWALL (which even the mighty Paul bettany couldn't salvage) with that hangdog expression that makes him look like a wet St Bernard who's about to shake his chops dry.<P>
I liked it, though, and you're right -in the few minutes he has, McDowall really makes an impression.<P>
Am I the only guy who (a) REALLY enjoyed the hell out TANK GIRL (I'm completely serious!) and (b) Though McDowell was brilliant in it? That last scene:<P>
McDOWALL: Say it! Say I WON!<P>
TANK GIRL: (bad cockney impression) I won!<P>
McDOWELL: No! Say IIIIII WON!<P>
TANK GIRL: IIIII WON!<P>
I think you had to be there...

Reboot, please! Pull a Hulk and redo the first movie in a 2 minute intro. Zombie's Halloween was terrible, give me the Thorn Cult any day to the trailer park terror. There is no reason to even be slightly optimisitic about H2. H2 will make the unwatchable Hills Have Eyes Two look like the Godfather 2. I shouldn't care about H2, I should ignore it but I just can't. Somebody save Michael. Buster Rymes, help us!

Time After Time and A Clockwork Orange. Wasn't he in Caligula as well? Never saw that, heard it is pretty perverse. Wish I had been at the interview. I have two words that would have shut him up...Tank Girl.

I thought House Of 1000 Corpses had a great trailer, but wasn't scary, original, or well made enough to even be considered a guilty pleasure. Devil's Rejects wasn't bad, but it had to be a lot better to make people rethink Zombie's talent. Halloween on the other hand is worse than all of the crappy Platinum Dunes flicks rolled up into 1 movie.
1) It told us too much about Myer's past and just turned him into a muscular Dahmer(did they give the fat kid Myers started out as steroids in the institution?).
2) Unlike Tarantino, Zombie puts z-grade character actors into his movies that just take you out of the movie and reminds the audience why they aren't getting much work in Hollywood to begin with.
3) Zombie likes to wear his white trashiness on his sleeve more than Roseanne, Eminem, and Kid Rock put together.
4) The only parts of the movie that came even close to working were those that were practically shot for shot remakes of Carpenter's original.
5) I just wanted to puch that fat faced long haired, scandinavian looking kid that played little Myers right in the face; he couldn't act, was wrong for the part, and I just din't like the cut of his jib.
I'd rather another crappy sequel from the orignal series than for them to continue Zombie's crap. This used to be my favorite slasher franchise, but it's dead to me now.

The Sheriff is on a vengeance quest for the psycho? And if it takes place two months after Halloween, will it be called Black Christmas? I liked Zombie as a singer, but as a director, he needs some serious evaluation.

Spot-fucking-on about the abbreviated titles. Another Hollywood gimmick that just irritates the fuck out of me. But I'm sure some poll conducted by the lackwits that run the town told them "Abbreviated titles sell! Just look at 'T2'!" Uh...newsflash, morons, that was 1991...and in that case it was cool because it was NEW. It's run its course; and the evidence of that is when it was used to promote "D2"..."The Mighty Ducks 2". Absurd enough? No? How about "ID4"..."Independence Day"? Who in the fuck thought THAT was a good idea?! Or try the idiotically-titled "H20"; the "Halloween" sequel that is apparently about water! Let it go, Hollywood. Enough of the abbreviated titles. Screw your "polls", they're shit. Same as the one that tells you "people don't want numbers in sequel titles...". Yes, they do, morons.

You're right, Carpenter did film the scene with the word "sister" carved on the back of Myers' door. But, Carpenter could've avoided the whole Laurie-as-Myers'-sister connection by simply saying Myers fixated on her because she reminded him of his sister Judith; in his twisted mind, they were one in the same. That would work too...

The one thing I thought was good about the remake was that it was pretty brutal. If I was being charitable, I'd think of it as the real world version of Halloween (kind of like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake was meant to be) - that is, if Michael Myers was in our world, there would probably be a reason of some kind for his behaviour. What I really think, though, is that they just missed the point of Myers: his evil can't be explained; it's just what he is. That's what's so devastating for the original Loomis; he's been trained to think evil behaviour has an explanation. The original Loomis would have been upset by the behaviour of the remake's Myers, but it wouldn't have pulled the rug out from under him. He would have been able to explain it. Pleasance's Loomis has had his entire worldview destroyed; the new one is just frustrated with his bosses and his failure.

The Car: 1977 Elliot Silverstein directed movie about a demon possessed car. Comes with pre-made redneck asshole character (who actually helps out big time at the end).<p>The Funhouse (! perfect for Zombie!!!): 1981 Tobe Hooper directed horror film about a traveling carnivale with a Funhouse ushered by a real monster, etc. come with pre-made white-trash carny 'barker' character!<p>Outside of the general 'remakes suck what the fuck happened to originality?", both of those movies are practically made for Zombie remakes. They're both fully in that redneck asshole white trash vein, both cheesy but still fun movies with some genuinely creepy moments.<p>There are just two rules for Zombie: Zombie MUST not write them and they must not be demystified by giving the viewer the history of the antagonist. These movies are far more akin to Zombie's sensibilities as a filmmaker and would likely shine in his hands. But he won't do them because some asshat producer will give him the Nightmare on Elm Street remake or maybe think it's about time Jaws was remade.

I hated that casting from the get-go. I'm a huge fan of the original series(I own every incarnation on DVD, including the producer's cut of "Curse"--as embarrassing as most of them are), and after the passing of Loomis I could have only seen one other actor playing him... Brian Cox. Malcolm McDowell is badass and his over-the-top electricity brings a lot to certain movies like "Doomsday," but he just lacked everything essential to making the character of Loomis work. I actually liked Zombie's remake when I saw it in theatres, so I bought it on DVD when it came out... and I can't even get through it anymore without hitting the chapter skip 7 or 8 times. A real shame.

You know, it is possible to see something, dislike it immensely, critique or "bitch" about it, and STILL have a very constructive and healthy life at the same time. The two things are not mutually exclusive, despite what you may think.

I'm one of those who doesn't like Zombie's vision...and I could go on for hours about why I take that stance. I feel very passionately about it...and I would go to great lengths to demonstrate my points to someone else. And it IS still possible for me to participate in other things, pursue my interests, be married, have friends, etc. I'm not sure why people are always saying things like "get a life" to those who feel passionately about something (be it negatively or positively). Just let 'em be. I'm not trying to come at you, but someone could very well say the same thing about you taking the time to bitch about the people who bitch about Zombie constantly. Whatever...you know? if they wanna hate, let 'em hate. Who knows...it just might drive them to do something constructive artistically. I've seen it happen before...

For the most part, I agree with that sentiment... if you openly hate a director's recurring work, its much easier to avoid anything else they do. The problem is that Zombie inherited one of the most lauded horror film's of all time. That put him spread-eagle for the scrutiny of fans of Carpenter's original, as well as slasher films in general. If he sticks to his own confines of trailer park gross-out horror, thats fine... but accepting the job of re-making a classic like "Halloween" puts him on the chopping block for everyone.

Please Rob, make this sequel take place during Christmas! Who cares about Halloween, hell, it's just the title of the movie. The studios have refused to release any Halloween sequel in the month of October, for what, 20 years or so? They gotta go after the summer crowds. I understand that, yet if any movie is perfect to be released the first, or second, Friday of October, it is a Halloween movie. They will absolutely clean up at the box office.It gets people in the mood for the Fall and the upcoming Halloween holiday. Maybe someday a studio will release a Halloween movie during the most logical/common sense time to, OCTOBER!!!!!!

I'd have been much happier if Zombie ruined the Friday the 13th Franchise and Platinum Dune took the reigns on Halloween. Zombie turned Halloween into his own redneck fetish flick. None of these retreads are necessary, mind you.

not really cause I love Zombies Halloween and I spend my time talking about things I love or at least like, I would never waste my time commenting on how brett ratner is the worst fucking director ever , cause who gives a fuck. also Im like a 3 post a day type of dude and its all on cool stuff that im interested in

SONNY BOY, caught this, a month or so ago on TCM, it's a redneck, desert love fest with a crossdressing David Caradine, canibal kid usued to rob people, and the dad from Mork and Mindy as a weird ass doctor and Brad Dorif. Just watching it made me think, that A)Zombie has seen this movie...and B)Zombie needs to remake this movie

but he even fucked that up by reverting to a fast-forward remake of the original for the last 45 minutes. <p>
Also, the entire cast was extremely punchable. That irritating little fat blonde fucker, his idiot mother and stereotype redneck stepdad, and even the young babysitters who I'm supposed to give a fuck about and empathise with were just the most unrealistically written and annoying characters in the history of slasher films. <p>
More annoying than Shelly in Friday 13th 3, more annoying than the fucker in the weelchair from TCM, more annoying than the mute kid/black guy combo from Elm Street 3/4. Fuck Zombie, he's a hack...and I won't be checking out this 2nd installment of shit either.

For those who don't know he frequents various talks backs and works a running gimmick of bitching at people who bitch. He will openly attack anyone who has anything less than positive to say abotu a subject while never making a direct comment on the subject itself. He has trolled the Watchmen talkbacks from day one. If you want to scare him off, simply demand that he either defend why a project will be good, or ask him to state his opnion on something other than whom he doesn't like in the TB and he will quickly disappear.

Loomis to me was what made Halloween different than F13 or other slasher films. The fact that the killer had an established adversary lended more weight to the plot and kept it from being completely mindless. In the same way that Dennis Hopper helped the Texas Chainsaw franchise, Loomis made an intersting and necessary counter balance to Myers.
McDowells take on the character is interesting, but ultimately unfulfilling. Certainly no one could disrespect him as a huge talent, but being in a film directed by a no talent hack like Zombie he has no chance at being successful. Surveying this TB and Rotten Tomatoes, Zombies Halloween is a flop loved by few, and hated by most.

your the one who disappears when someone ask you to logically answer a question, do you remember your rant about wanting to see daviv lynch and Jim jarmucsh watchmen? you probly wont see this since this talkback is dead but Ill bring it up in the next watchmen talkback where you'll talk about how much you hate the thing and hate hate hate whhhaaaa whhhhaaaaa wwwwhhhhaaaaaaaa